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Sunday, May 13, 2018

12 Reasons Turkey Should Be Expelled From NATO - Ari Leiberman

by Ari Leiberman

The time has come to part ways with the unhinged Erdoğan.

Turkey’s acceptance to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in
October 1951 was a boon for the organization. Though its human rights
record was far from stellar, it was staunchly anti-Communist, maintained
a formidable army, was amenable to the placement of NATO assets in the
country, including nuclear-tipped Jupiter ballistic missiles and was
strategically located, flanking the Soviet Union on the south and acting
as a bridge between Europe and Asia.

Though Turkey was
technically a Muslim country, it leaders, following the doctrines
espoused by Kamal Ataturk, zealously guarded the secular nature of the
state. Religious influence was kept to a minimum and this was especially
true for government officials and parliamentarians. Indeed, there was a
significant Jewish population in Turkey and Turkey was the first Muslim
majority nation to recognize Israel, extending recognition in March
1949.

During the Korean War, Turkey sent a sizable
contingent to fight alongside the United States-led United Nations
coalition, and its troops acquitted themselves well in combat. Turkey’s
strained relations with its neighbor Greece and its human rights record
proved to be problematic issues for NATO but were overlooked in light of
the benefits conveyed to NATO by Turkish membership.

With the
ascension of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan as prime minister in 2003, the
equation began to change. Erdoğan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP),
a Muslim Brotherhood offshoot, began systematically changing the
character of secular Turkey, incrementally at first so as not to upset
the Turkish Army, but at an accelerated pace in recent years. Now
president, Erdoğan has consolidated his power and has neutered his foes
in the press, the judiciary, the political opposition, and the army.

The Turkey of today is vastly different than the Turkey that
existed prior to the ascension of Erdoğan. The nation is currently led
by a neo-Ottoman, heavy-handed, authoritarian Islamist who shares
nothing in common with his NATO partners, and who works at
cross-purposes with NATO to frustrate its objectives. Rather than being
an asset, Turkey has become a hindrance to NATO. The time has come for
NATO to part ways with Erdoğan. Here’s why.

Human rights abuses: On April 20, the U.S. State Department released a report
detailing significant human right abuses in Turkey. These included
arbitrary detentions and mass arrests, torture, press censorship,
curtailment of free speech and forced disappearances of political
opponents. Authoritarian Erdoğan has transformed Turkey into a
near-dictatorship where one can be arrested for dubious crimes like
“insulting the president.” Political opponents and members of the press
are routinely arrested on contrived “terrorism” charges based on the
flimsiest evidence. The once independent judiciary has been thoroughly
corrupted and is now staffed by Erdoğan cronies and party hacks.

Use of foreign nationals as bargaining chips: In October 2016 Turkish authorities arrested and detained an American pastor named Andrew Brunson
on contrived terrorism charges. The identities of the witnesses who
testified against Brunson were obscured. In February 2017, Turkish
police arrested German-Turkish journalist Deniz Yucel, accusing him of
engaging in terrorist propaganda. Turkish police also detained two Czech
nationals it accused of aiding Kurdish guerillas, and in March 2018 the
Turks seized
two Greek soldiers, who due to inclement weather, mistakenly strayed
across the border at Evros River. In the former case, the Turks are
demanding that the Czechs extradite a Kurdish leader currently in Prague
in exchange for the two Czech nationals and in the latter case, the
Turks are demanding that Greek authorities hand over Turkish soldiers
who fled Turkey following the failed 2016 coup attempt. In this regard,
Turkish behavior is no different than the behavior of Iran and North
Korea both of which routinely snatch foreigners for potential use as
bargaining chips. The only difference is that Turkey is a member of NATO
and is seizing the nationals of allied partners.

Support for ISIS:
It seems absurd to suggest that Turkey supported ISIS in light of the
terror attacks perpetrated by ISIS on Turkish soil but this was in fact
the case. The Erdogan government initially believed that it shared
common interests with the terrorist group. Both were Sunni, and shared
hatred for the Kurds, the Shia and Assad. As such, Erdogan was instrumental
in propping up ISIS during its formative years. Turkish intelligence
officials assisted ISIS terrorists with arms and logistics and the
Turkish government purchased ISIS oil thus providing the terror group
with a steady stream of funding to support its activities. The Turks
also permitted known ISIS operatives to freely cross their borders and
hindered U.S. efforts to support the Kurds against ISIS during the
battle of Kobani. Of course, the Turks soon bitterly learned that they
could not control the beast they helped create. Nevertheless, Erdogan
and his henchmen were partly responsible for the group’s ascendancy.

Support for Hamas:
Hamas is a terrorist organization fully recognized as such by the U.S.,
Israel the European Union, Canada, Japan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia
without the fraudulent distinction between its military and “political”
wings. Yet Turkey has fostered excellent relations
with the blood-thirsty group. This is due to the fact that both the AKP
and Hamas are closely affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood and
profess similar ideologies. Turkey has permitted Hamas terrorists to
freely operate, recruit and fundraise within its borders. The
murder-kidnapping of three Jewish youths from the Gush Etzion junction
in the summer of 2014 was the product of a plan hatched and funded by
Hamas operatives in Turkey. Hamas continues funnel money to its
operatives in the West bank and Gaza via its offices in Turkey as
evidenced by the recent arrest by Israeli undercover commandos of Omar
al-Kiswani, a Hamas terrorist who received €150,000 from his Hamas
handlers in Turkey.

Deceptive and untrustworthy:
Turkish-Israeli ties, never good under Erdogan, experienced a marked
decline following the 2010 seizure of the blockade-running Mavi Marmara
vessel and the killing of 10 Turkish IHH terrorists who attempted to
attack Israeli naval commandos during the operation. Political ties were
all but severed. Nevertheless, there was limited cooperation between
Israeli and Turkish intelligence services. But in what can only be
described as an act of egregious perfidy, Turkey’s intelligence chief
Hakan Fidan, betrayed
the names of 10 Israeli agents, all Iranian nationals, who were working
undercover in Iran, condemning them all to death and wrecking the
secret spy ring. Fidan obtained Erdogan’s approval before committing
this monstrous act. It was an unprecedented act considering that Israeli
and Turkish intelligence had previously enjoyed a mutually beneficial,
50-year relationship. If Turkish intelligence is capable of engaging in
such treachery, it’s a sure bet that Turkey is handing over
closely-guarded NATO secrets to its close allies, Russia and Iran.

Incompatible weapons procurement:
In times of war, NATO members are expected to act in a cohesive,
unified manner to meet common challenges. To that end, alliance members
are expected to procure weapon systems and sub-systems that are
compatible. In layman’s terms, these platforms need to recognize and
communicate with each other for things to run smoothly. Until recently,
this was the case until Turkey decided to unilaterally purchase Russian S-400
anti-aircraft missiles in a deal worth $2.5 billion. The platform is
not compatible with alliance platforms. Protests by the U.S. and other
NATO members have been largely ignored. In addition, Russia is still
viewed as the greatest conventional threat to peace on the European
continent but Turkey’s S-400 procurement gave the Russian defense
industry a significant boost, which of course, is not good for NATO.

Migrant extortion:
On multiple occasions, Erdogan has threatened to flood Europe with
Syrian and Iraqi migrants camped in Turkey if his extortionist demands
were not met. He has demanded visa-free access for Turkish nationals to
EU nations, demanded Turkish admittance to the EU, and demanded billions
of euros in extortion money from EU nations. Considering Turkey’s
abysmal human rights record, Islamist bent and close affiliation with
Islamist terrorist groups, these demands are beyond absurd.

Divergence on Syria:
As noted, Turkey has assisted ISIS militarily, logistically and
economically and in 2014, frustrated U.S. efforts to help Kurdish forces
fend off ISIS attacks on the Kurdish city of Kobani. In January 2018,
Turkish forces invaded
Syria’s northwest region of Afrin to do battle with the Syrian
Democratic Forces, a group closely allied with the U.S. and largely
responsible for defeating ISIS in Syria. Turkish aggression was
motivated by imperialistic and irredentist ambitions. Before invading,
the Turks consulted with the Russians but paid scant attention to
American and German protests. Turkey’s invasion, obscenely called
“Operation Olive Branch,” was a violation of international law and
nearly caused direct confrontation with U.S. forces stationed in nearby
Manbij. By its words and actions, Turkey has made clear that its
geo-political interests lie with Russia and Iran, not with NATO.

Sanctions busting: On Erdogan’s orders Turkey helped Iran circumvent
internationally imposed sanctions aimed at forcing the rogue regime to
quit its nuclear proliferation activities. In a plan hatched by Erdogan,
Turkish state banks were employed in a complicated scheme involving
gold for Iranian oil to the tune of billions of dollars. Erdogan’s
cronies were paid hefty bribes along the way. An attempt by Turkish
police to expose the illegalities was quashed by Erdogan.

Anti-Semitic and anti-Western rhetoric:
Erdogan frequently lashes out at Israel and alliance members. His fiery
speeches are often laced with anti-Semitic overtones, wild conspiracy
theories and bellicosity. Erdogan has compared Israel to Nazi Germany,
claimed that Israel has committed genocide against the Palestinians,
alleged that Israel engineered
the coup that saw the overthrow of Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood leader,
Mohammed Morsi and accused the international “interest rate lobby,” a
euphemism for rich Jews, of fomenting the 2013 Gezi Park riots. Alliance
members have not been spared his conspiracy-laden wrath either.
Germany, France, the Netherlands, Greece and the United States have all
been subjected to his unhinged vitriol. Following a spate of racist
attacks by Muslims directed against French Christians and Jews, an
effort was made by the by prominent French officials to remove Quranic
verses that made reference to violence against non-Muslims. Rather than
acknowledging the problem and seeking a solution, Erdogan responded by
referring to the West as “vile”
and lashed out against Judeo-Christian writings. His utter disdain for
the West was clearly demonstrated last year when he made the following statement;
“Our concern is not what George or Hans or Helga says. Our concern is
what Hatice, Ayse, Fatma, Ahmet, Mehmet, Hasan, Huseyin says, what Allah
says…”

Aggression towards Greece: Turkey
continues to initiate aggression against fellow alliance member, Greece.
In March, it seized two Greek soldiers who mistakenly crossed the
border due to inclement weather. Turkish aircraft routinely violate
Greek airspace and its ships have rammed
Greek vessels near disputed areas of the Aegean. There were at least
two such hostile ramming incidents this year. Add to this Erdogan’s
express coveting of Greek territory, expansionist agenda and unhinged
temperament and we have a recipe for an all-out war between Greece and
Turkey, which ultimately harms the cohesiveness of the NATO alliance.

Occupation of Northern Cyprus:
In 1974, Turkish forces invaded Cyprus and occupied the northern part
of the Mediterranean island nation. The Turks dubbed their belligerent
military invasion the “Peace Operation,” a misnomer if ever there was
one. During the course of its aggression, Turkey displaced some 200,000
Greek Cypriots from their homes. In addition, the Turks implanted
Turkish colonists from mainland Turkey in an effort to create a further
ethnic imbalance. Turkey’s actions in Cyprus are no different than those
of the Iranians in Syria, who are ethnically cleansing large swaths of
Syria and replacing vacated Sunni areas with Shia. Turkey was found to
be in violation of Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights,
which addresses displacement of populations. Turkey may also be in
violation of Article 49, Clause 6 of the Fourth Geneva Convention which
states that, “the Occupying Power shall not deport or transfer parts of
its own civilian population into the territory it occupies.” After 44
years, Turkey still continues to flagrantly violate international law
through its illegal occupation of one-third of an EU member state.

Each of these transgressions, standing alone, is cause for concern.
Collectively however, they are damning. Sovereign nations of course, are
free to pursue their own national interests. Erdogan has chosen a
virulently anti-Western path that veers sharply from NATO’s. He has
demonstrated that he is nothing but an unhinged, conspiracy-prone and
deeply anti-Semitic thug. It’s time now for NATO to politely show
Erdogan the door and expel Turkey from the alliance.

Ari Leiberman is an attorney and former prosecutor who has authored numerous articles
and publications on matters concerning the Middle East and is
considered an authority on geo-political and military developments
affecting the region.Source: https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/270149/12-reasons-turkey-should-be-expelled-nato-ari-lieberman Follow Middle East and Terrorism on TwitterCopyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.